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Flow rate manipulation in a microfluidic chip obtains with MFCS-4C 345mbar microfluidic flow controller.	Flow rate manipulation in a microfluidic chip obtains with: MFCS-FLEX-25/69/345/1000mbar Electrowell Flowell

 

The utilization of microfluidics in chemistry has significantly increased over the past few years. By offering the possibility to include networks of microchannels, valves, reaction chambers or electrodes inside the same chip, microfluidics offers new solution in the field of chemistry.

The miniaturized platform of chemistry provides:

• Rapid and safer chemical reactions as the reagents are handled only inside closed microchannels
• Cost-saving strong advantage: expensive and rare reagents are now used in microscale volume
• Laminar flows making easier experimental modeling
• Decrease of the limit of detection
• Direct observations
• The reduction of experimental set-up allowing multiple processes within the same chips

 

Based on these benefits, microfluidics is used for a lot of chemical applications such as:

• Precise mixing
• Characterization of fluids properties, such as viscosity by creating controlled diffusion between two fluids flowing side by side in a microchannel
• Electrophoresis
• Electrochromatography
• On chip chemical reactions
• Improvement of nanoparticles synthesis
• Formulation of advanced inorganic materials or hybrid

 

Thanks to its FASTAB^TM technology, the MFCS^TM (Microfluidic Flow Control System) provides some key advantages for chemical application:

• Fast response time enabling the possibility to switch from a fluid to another in less than 200ms* and time saving for optimization of the experimental conditions of the chemical reaction 
• Stable flows for long time experiments
• Real time flow rate and pressure monitoring to be able to control the reaction anytime. You don’t need to add any pressure sensor
• High chemical compatibility since there is no contact with the internal part of the MFCS^TM: the liquid are inside external and disposable vials
• Possibility to control up to 8 independent channels for chips with several inlets/outlets

 

You can find more information in the following publications for which the MFCS^TM have been used to chemical applications:

Norland optical adhesive (NOA81) microchannels with adjustable wetting behavior and high chemical resistance against a range of mid-infrared-transparent organic solvents, P. Wägli, A.Homsy, N.F.deRooij, Sensors and Actuators B, 2011
A dielectrophoretic continuous flow sorter using integrated microelectrodes coupled to a channel constriction, S. Salomon, T. Leichlé, L. Nicu, Electrophoresis, vol.32, issue 12, 06/2011
Nanocavity Redox Cycling Sensors for the Detection of Dopamine Fluctuations in Microfluidic Gradients, E. K. Telh, B. Hofmann, S. G. Lemay, M. A. G. Zevenbergen, A. Offenh usser, and B. Wolfrum, Anal. Chem. n°82, 2010
Integrated microdevice for preconcentration and separation of a wide variety of compounds by electrochromatography, G. Proczek, V. Augustin, S. Descroix, M.C. Hennion, Electrophoresis, vol.30, issue 3, 02/2009
Microfluidic System for Controlled Gelation of a Thermally Reversible Hydrogel, J. Flueckiger, K. C. Cheung, Biomedical Circuits and Systems, vol.3, issue 4, 08/2009
Electrospun microfibres with temperature sensitive iridescence from encapsulated cholesteric liquid crystal, E. Enz, J. Langerwall, J. Mater. Chem. n°20, 2010

 

*Response time to target pressure is output volume dependent